1. Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to product delivery methods and systems therefor and, more particularly, to methods for performing product delivery and accounting simultaneously by utilizing rewritable record medium, and systems therefor.
2. Description of Related Art
Typical cards used instead of cash are a prepaid card, credit card and an IC (integrated circuit) card.
A prepaid card is a kind of a book of coupons or tickets, on which necessary information is written by using magnetism instead of using ink, and can be utilized for paying money, the cumulative amount of which is not more than a limit amount recorded on a magnetic card, but becomes unavailable when the cumulative amount exceeds the record limit amount. For example, a pinball card, a telephone card and an IO card are of this type. Under the circumstances, there are no means to prevent illegal use thereof.
A credit card can be used at member stores accepting the card. When using a credit card, the payment or repayment of the price for a product is postponed for a certain grace period. As used throughout, the term product refers to goods and a services and data. Further, the price for the product is automatically paid from a corresponding bank account. Authorization is, however, needed so as to prevent any illegal use of a credit card. It is common to use credit cards for the payment of charges for utilizing a system for acquiring value-added data or various control data through a wire telephone circuit, a radiotelephone circuit or satellite broadcasting.
An IC card is a card with an embedded IC having a memory portion, which serves as a storage unit, and a microprocessor portion. Thus, an IC card itself has logical processing functions such as data generation and logical decision. For instance, electronic money is of this type. An IC embedded in the card has the function of checking authenticity and of rewritably storing electronic money data transferred thereto. This rewritable storage function permits a person, who is other than a purchaser, to rewrite an IC card.
The conventional card systems, however, have encountered the following problems in the case of delivering products by using these cards:
(1) Prepaid Cards
{circle around (1)} Because each purchaser's data is not linked with a management computer, magnetic information can be illegally changed. Moreover, prepaid cards are easily counterfeited. Actually, as is well known, the presence of counterfeited pinball cards has become widespread.
{circle around (2)} Readers, such as a card reader, designed specifically for reading prepaid cards are necessary. Thus, miniaturization, power-saving and reduction in price of prepaid cards cannot be realized.
{circle around (3)} Because data cannot be reloaded into a prepaid card, the prepaid card cannot be used again after cash represented by cash data or a call rate represented by call-rate data is used up.
{circle around (4)} When purchasing software by a machine for selling software, which is installed in the form of a vending machine, or when purchasing a communication playing game and software, of the communication utilizing type for acquiring image information and music information by using communication, there is the necessity for purchasing a prepaid card in addition to such software. This is very inconvenient for a purchaser.
(2) Credit Cards
{circle around (1)} Purchasers are limited to possessors of credit cards. This is a hindrance to increasing the number of purchasers.
{circle around (2)} It is troublesome to contract with a credit card company to possess a credit card. This is an obstacle to increasing the number of purchasers.
{circle around (3)} Credit cards do not have a function of communicating with a computer of a data deliverer or management company about sales conditions of products. Thus, sales management cannot be performed.
(3) IC Cards
An IC card has logical processing functions such as data generation and logical decision. Thus, IC cards do not have the defects of prepaid cards and credit cards, but have encountered the following problems:
{circle around (1)} Data to be stored in an IC card includes many various data, such as personal data, which should be concealed. To ensure security, advanced encryption techniques and sophisticated anti-copying techniques are required.
{circle around (2)} A very large-scale IC-card system is needed. Moreover, the structure of an IC card is complex.
{circle around (3)} The memory capacity of an IC card is low. It is thus difficult to store a large size program, such as software, in an IC card.
{circle around (4)} IC card systems are still in an experimental stage. It is therefore difficult to use IC cards at low cost.
In the game industry, systems for software delivery through a network have already been put into service. However, in the case of the conventional card systems, software cannot be delivered easily and safely from deliverers by using cash data.
The invention eliminates the problems of the conventional product delivery techniques for delivering primary data, including software, from a data deliverer at the request of a purchaser. The invention also eliminates problems of conventional product delivery techniques that rely on credit cards or prepaid cards.